Baltimore property tax break to bring more safety officials to the city

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has proposed a $2,500 annual property tax credit for police and firefighters who live or will move to the city.

The proposal has been embraced by the Baltimore legislative delegation, who promises to move the bill to approval in Annapolis.

The credit would take the property taxes on a $200,000 home from $4,500 per year to $2,000.

Baltimore’s mayor wants to make it easier for police officers and firefighters to buy a home within the city’s limits.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has proposed a property tax credit for police and firefighters who buy homes in the city, up to $2,500 per year. The intent of the tax break is to improve the relationship between the community and the safety forces that protect and serve it. The tax credit is designed only for present and future owner-occupied homes.
The intent is to provide relief for any safety force member at any rank or level of seniority but is thought to be most attractive to the demographic that is looking for, or owns, homes in the $150,000 to $225,000 range. For a house worth $200,000, the city property tax burden would drop from about $4,500 to $2,000.
Rawlings-Blake has made passage of the bill at the state level, the next step required for the tax credit to become law, one of her top agenda items for 2016. She hopes the tax break will bring t...